Captain’sLog

Greetings
Sandlappers.It’s been a great
year for the Sandlapper Parrothead Club. We’ve had a lot of fun and raised a
lot of money for our charities. This year we raised and donated more than
$5000 to our charities and totaled 1017 man-hours for charity work and
community service. We all should be very proud of our work last year and keep
the good work going. Last year we grew a lot too.We started the year with 75 members and ended with 105. We have some
great new members and we plan to keep growing. With more active members, we
can have more activities producing more fun for the members and more funds for
our charities. So please, keep recruiting and keep telling your friends about
the Sandlappers. Last year the parties were great and the music was terrific.
We had performers like the Caribbean Cowboys, The Chris Clifton Band, The Rum
Punch Bandits, The Oneppo Brothers, and more at our festivities. This year we
have even more planned.Check out the website for more on upcoming events. Speaking
of the website, please check it out, www.sandlapperphc.com. BobRob has
completely revamped the site.It’s
pretty cool.He has added a lot
of new stuff. There’s even a page called Sandlappers at Work where members
can advertise their businesses for free. Thanks to everybody who has donated
time and efforts this year. It’s really been A Lovely Cruise.

Charlie
Mandeville

President

Sandlapper PHC

Sandlapper PHC Member
Profile – Ron Wike

I
was born in Charlotte, NC. Yes one of the few still here, sort of. I live now
in Concord. I enlisted in the Navy 13 days out of High School. (Draft lottery
number 3) Stayed for 20 Years, 17 days, 11 hours, 32 min. I am a Chief Petty
Officer Electrician and retired in 1992 from the Navy. I have two children in
college. Rebecca at Catawba College majoring in Religious Philosophy and Ben
at UNC-W majoring in parties, but soon to be journalism.

During
my career I served as a Navy recruiter in Charlotte for three years; An
instructor for mine warfare in Charleston for four years; Performed electrical
repairs on many different ships. I traveled to six of the seven continents,
and did my last deployment to Kuwait during Desert Storm where I led a team
that cleared sea mines from the harbors and shipping lanes.

I
joined the Parrothead nation back in 1974 while in the Navy. Several friends
and I were closing a bar in St. Croix one night when two guys came in and
started playing guitar together on the stage. One of them was Jimmy Buffett. I
had never heard of him but liked the music.

My
first Parrot Head club was the Virtual PHC. I ordered tickets to a Charlotte
concert in 98. I had to pick up the tickets from Don, President of the
Charlotte club. Joined them. Latter joined the Sandlapper PHC and the Upstate
PHC and the Coast of Carolina PHC in Myrtle Beach. As you can see I'm a
joiner.

I
have been around the world. I have been to places that most people would not
see in ten lifetimes. I have learned that it is not the places or things in
life that matter, it is your friends, your family, your loves. I have found
that you can have a better time sitting in a K-mart parking lot in Rock Hill
with friends than you can sitting in Paris by yourself. The joy of a hug from
someone who cares about you brings more satisfaction than a week of lovemaking
with a stranger. (God did I really just say that?)

When
I listen to certain Buffett songs I can feel a deck moving below my feet,
smell the sea breeze and remember the days when anything was possible. Other
songs remind me of my Parrothead friends, the good times we are creating
together and the memories we will leave behind. And some are just to fill up a
CD. And so is life. Our past, or present and the junk in between. The future?
That is promised to no one.

One
of my favorite quotes is:

Life
is not measured by the number of breaths we take;
but by the moments that take our breath away!

I would like to leave you all gasping.

“Now
she lives down by the ocean, she’s taking care to look for sharks, they hang
out down at Stacey’s Bar and they feed right after dark”

Club
Member Birthdays

February
5thDeWayne Allen

February
6thAndrew Wilbanks

February
14thDebbie Iliano

February
17thLou Iliano

February
20thJody Smith

Sandlapper
PHC’s Birthday Party

The
Sandlapper PHC will be celebrating its 6th Anniversary with an
oyster roast at the Beacon Knoll Clubhouse off of Pleasant Road in Fort Mill
on Saturday March 20th. The party will start at 7PM and the Rum
Punch bandits will be the evening’s musical guests. $10.00 gets you in the
door and we encourage everyone to bring a guest or twelve. It’s a great
opportunity to introduce new people to the club. Also, we’d like to ask
everyone to bring a covered dish, appetizer or dessert. There will be a silent
auction to raise money for the club as well as a 50/50 raffle of a very nice
piece of Buffett memorabilia.

Directions:
From Rock Hill take I-77 to Exit 85 and turn left. Go to Pleasant Rd. and turn
right. Beacon Knoll will be up a ways on the right. From Charlotte take I-77
to Carowinds Blvd. And turn right. Pleasant Rd. will be ahead on the left.
Turn there and Beacon Knoll will be on the left.

CoCoNuggetts

*
Registration for the 2004 Meeting of the Minds Parrot Head Convention in Key
West is now open. Go to the Parrot Heads in Paradise website for more info:

*
Registration for Parrotstock 2004 is now open as well. This year’s
convention will be held at the Ocean Dunes Resort in Myrtle Beach June 10th
– 13th. The entertainment line-up is set and this promises to be
the best Parrotstock yet. Visit the Parrotstock website for more details:

*
Sandlapper PHC member Eddie Healan passed away January 17th at his
home. He was 52. He was a
member of the American Legion Frank Roach Post 34 and a band member of the
Mixed Dogs and the Radio Flyers as well as a U.S. National Guard veteran. He
will be missed.

*
The Margaritaville Café in Myrtle Beach will have a soft opening in June and
a grand opening on July 5th. Nothing is set in stone, but Buffett
has made a tradition of performing at the grand openings of his other cafés.

“But
now I think about the good times down in the Caribbean sunshine, in my younger
days I was so bad, laughin’ about all the fun we had.
I’ve seen enough to make the world spin, mixin’ different oceans meeting
cousins, listen to the drummers and the night sounds, listen to the singers make
the world go ‘round.”

Who
Are We?

The
Sandlapper Parrothead Club, founded in 1998, has over 100 members from York,
Chester and Lancaster Counties in South Carolina. Our main charities are
Paramedics for Children, Save the Manatee Club and the Tropics Exotic Bird
Refuge.